There were fifteen family members and neighbours at her home that day — only two would survive.

Ms Xia's grandfather instructed her to hide and she watched her nearest and dearest as they were killed.

"The Japanese soldiers stabbed my mother. They even pounded her body with a rifle. They pulled one of my sisters onto a table and slashed her with a sword," Ms Xia said.

"Then they came for another sister. As they dragged her I tried to hold her back and they stabbed me three times. Then I blacked out. When I woke up only my four-year-old sister was alive."

Only Ms Xia and her little sister survived the massacre.

Every Japanese history book minimising the country's war-time aggression prompts an outcry in China.

Every visit by a Japanese leader to the Yasukuni Shrine — which honours (amongst others) Class A war criminals — prompts a major diplomatic rift.

Japan has officially apologised before – and it will do so again in the coming days – but this does not seem to be enough for China and the government will be closely analysing every word spoken by prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The Chinese Communist Party is accused by some of deliberately stoking ill will towards Japan for political reasons.

But Ms Xia, who has visited Japan six times, now thinks it is time the ordinary people of the two countries should unite outside of government and politics.

Watch Stephen McDonell's Tales of a City Foreign Correspondent report from Nanjing.